I don't hate drugs. I hate the system we have where we need permission from someone to get the drugs we want. I hate the wholier then thou belief that the modern physician has in regards to prescribing medications. I hate that I have to ask permission from someone who may say no.

I take Ritalin. I works for me. Not just for ADD but also for feeding that craving I have for uppers and barfights. Lucky for me that I have the ADD to justify my prescription. If I just wanted some Ritalin because I like speed I can't have it. If I want speed I have to get it on the black market because my doctor isn't allowed to prescribe it just because.

So my doctor begrudgingly continues to prescribe Ritalin because my last doctor gave it to me. However he's told me in very clear terms that he doesn't believe it works for adults and that he wouldn't have prescribed it if I wasn't already on it.

It works for me but if I was a new case I never would have found out it works because my doctor never would have given it consideration.

I agree that it is a weird concept that some medications need to be prescribed by physicians. However, there are serious side effects to some meds that require MD supervision. Also, newer medications require more general population observation data.

For example, I would never give a patient Clozaril without supervision. It's useful treatment for some mental health patients, but it comes at a cost. A very large cost and must be monitored regularly.

It's hard to fix the system when there are so many reasons why and layers involved in how it got set-up.

The next time your physician says he does not feel the drug works in adults, I would challenge him. Go ahead and request proven peer reviewed journal articles on it that he has reviewed. Ask for copies and say you wish to review them as well.

UC and I have always agreed that physicians may know medicine, but the ones that are worth their salaries know science and medicine. One who actuals reads journal articles and understands something about pharmacology is worthy of your time. One who does not and refuses to share peer reviewed works is not worth your time.

How about rather than having physicians tell us what pills to take, we have the companies that manufacture them tell us what to take... oh wait, that's already happened. With the amount of pill advertising on television in the recent past, it's no wonder that these numbers could very possibly suggest what the article implies.